AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The module aims to provide students with the theoretical tools to decode and critically analyse contemporary social and cultural phenomena in the food domain, through the study of the history of anthropological thought on food. Although eating is a universal act, everywhere people identify themselves by what they eat and distinguish themselves by what they do not eat: this constitutes a system of social communication that reveals identity and otherness. With a particular focus on the Mediterranean heterogeneity of food regimes and grammars, culinary orders, consumption habits, prescriptions and prohibitions, the course offers an in‑depth examination of the diverse practices of food production, distribution, and consumption through the study of selected ethnographic case studies.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course, students will be able to::

1. Define the main concepts and theoretical–methodological approaches of the anthropology of food.

2. Analyse food practices as complex social facts, recognising their biological, cultural, economic, symbolic, and political dimensions.

3. Discuss the role of food in the construction of identities, belongings, and differences (gender, class, ethnicity, religion).

4. Evaluate processes of food heritage-making and mediatisation, and their social and territorial implications.

5. Use ethnographic techniques to analyse specific case studies.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of asynchronous online lectures, supplemented by several on-campus meetings.

The instructor will upload additional teaching materials to AulaWeb, including articles and essays.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework, and exams should speak with both the instructor and Professor Federico Scarpa (federico.scarpa@unige.it), the Polytechnic School's disability liaison.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is organised into four macro-thematic areas, preceded by an introductory section on the theoretical and methodological tools of the anthropology of food. The first section focuses on the relationships among production, the environment, and history, examining food as an ecological, economic, and technical system undergoing global transformations. The second addresses symbolism, classification, and social differences, highlighting how taboos, rituals, tastes, and distinctions shape the production of gender, class, and ethnic identities and hierarchies. The third explores processes of heritage-making, territorialisation, and the construction of food traditions. Finally, the fourth section focuses on the roles of media, food ethnographies, and contemporary food policies, showing how food has become a terrain of conflict, narratives, and the construction of imaginaries.

Bibliography

Attending students:

1. Niola, Marino. 2023 [2009]. Si fa presto a dire cotto. Un antropologo in cucina. Bologna: Il Mulino.

2. Tierney, R. Kenji, Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. 2012. Anthropology of Food. In The Oxford Handbook of Food History, edited by Jeffrey M. Pilcher (pp. 117–134). Oxford: Oxford University Press [The translation will be provided by the instructor].

Non-attending students

1. Koensler, Alex, Meloni, Pietro. 2019. Antropologia dell’alimentazione. Produzione, consumo, movimenti sociali. Roma: Carocci.

2. Niola, Marino. 2023 [2009]. Si fa presto a dire cotto. Un antropologo in cucina. Bologna: Il Mulino.

3. Tierney, R. Kenji, Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. 2012. Anthropology of Food. In The Oxford Handbook of Food History, edited by Jeffrey M. Pilcher (pp. 117–134). Oxford: Oxford University Press [The translation will be provided by the instructor].

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Attending students:

1. Niola, Marino. 2023 [2009]. Si fa presto a dire cotto. Un antropologo in cucina. Bologna: Il Mulino.

2. Tierney, R. Kenji, Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. 2012. Anthropology of Food. In The Oxford Handbook of Food History, edited by Jeffrey M. Pilcher (pp. 117–134). Oxford: Oxford University Press [The translation will be provided by the instructor].

Non-attending students

1. Koensler, Alex, Meloni, Pietro. 2019. Antropologia dell’alimentazione. Produzione, consumo, movimenti sociali. Roma: Carocci.

2. Niola, Marino. 2023 [2009]. Si fa presto a dire cotto. Un antropologo in cucina. Bologna: Il Mulino.

3. Tierney, R. Kenji, Ohnuki-Tierney, Emiko. 2012. Anthropology of Food. In The Oxford Handbook of Food History, edited by Jeffrey M. Pilcher (pp. 117–134). Oxford: Oxford University Press [The translation will be provided by the instructor].

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/en/corsi/11758/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Written examination (open-ended questions).

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The final grade will take into account the development of the capacity to critically elaborate the funding concepts of the anthropological analysis within the final written test

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Federico Scarpa (federico.scarpa@unige.it  ), the Polytechnic School's disability liaison.